Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 22 2005
Putin calls for discussing EurAsEC development, relations

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) – President Vladimir Putin called for
discussing the EurAsEC development and relations between
member-countries.
Opening the EurAsEC summit on Wednesday, Putin said, `We’ll begin our
work in a narrow format. We’ll have an opportunity to hold
discussions on the agenda and the issues, in which we show interest –
the development of the organisation and bilateral relations.’
Putin welcomed President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia, which is not a
EurAsEC member. Armenia is taking part in the summit as an observer.
From: Baghdasarian

PRESS RELEASE
The Armenian Community (UK)
an occassional publication dedicated to British-Armenian Affairs
Garod House, 42 Blythe Rd., London W14 0HA
20 June 2005
————————————————————————
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS AT HEART OF BRITISH GOVERNMENT

LONDON (15th June 2005) At 10a.m. on June 15th 2005, a series of
important events commenced at the heart of the British Government.
The British-Armenian All Party Parliamentary Group, sponsored by the
AGBU, held three separate events aimed at reminding the British
government that the United Kingdom has still failed to recognise the
Armenian Genocide.

Church Service
At St. Margaret’s Church in Westminster Abbey, a Memorial Service took
place in the presence of such British dignitaries, such as Baroness
Cox, Lord Avebury, Lord Biffen, Baroness Flather, Baroness Park of
Monmouth and The Earl of Shannon alongside Members of Parliament,
Robert Wareing and Paddy Tipping. An Armenian delegation was also
present including His Excellency Vartan Oskanyan, Foreign minister of
Armenia, Sarkis Assadurian, former Canadian M.P. and French
M.P. Francois Rochebloine.

Conference on Genocide
Following the Memorial Service a Conference took place in the Moses
Room of the House of Lords. Baroness Cox opened proceedings with an
impassioned analysis of the non-recognition of the Armenian Genocide
by the British Government. Armenian Foreign Minister Oskanyan followed
in a similar vein, speaking eloquently about the denial promulgated by
the Turkish Government, and backed up by some Western powers,
including Great Britain. He also thanked Odette Bazil and the BAAPG
for organising this event given that as a result of the General
Election April 24th was not fully commemorated this year.
Both Sarkis Assadurian and Francois Rochebloine considered how they
had worked in their respective countries’ recognition of the Armenian
Genocide, and notably Rochebloine laughed off the mountain of denial
materials that were sent to him personally, in a bid to persuade him
otherwise.
Finally James Smith of the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre and the Aegis
Trust spoke about how their organisations went about remembering the
Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide.
Also present were British MPs, diplomats, other politicians, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office advisers, journalists, academics, as well as
members of the British Armenian community.
The questions from the floor made for a lively session after the
presentations, with historian John Fox drawing attention to an article
in the current issue of History Today that belittled Armenian
historians, suggesting that ‘Armenian’ historiography is keen to
enforce a standard line on how the genocide is interpreted.
Foreign Minister Oskanyan was asked his opinion on Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation, whilst James Smith was asked what the Aegis Trust was
doing to combat Armenian Genocide denial, especially given his
organisations’ role on the Holocaust Memorial Day Steering Group.

British Armenian Community Ignores Friends
The Rabbi Baaden who had contributed to the Memorial Service earlier
in the day, made an extremely pertinent point. He stated that he has
been keen to involve himself in matters relating to the recognition of
the Armenian Genocide, but stated with some exasperation, that nobody
from the Armenian community had approached him despite knowledge of
his commitment within UK community organisations for at least three
years.

Petition to British Prime Minister
After lunch a delegation went to 10 Downing Street to present
thousands of petitions that the British-Armenian All Party
Parliamentary Group has been collecting in the last few months,
demanding the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The day was a successful reminder that the Armenians of the United
Kingdom will continue to pressure their Government until the latter
ditches its subservience to Turkey in denying the truth.
Nora Vosbigian
London
————————————————————————
The Armenian Community (UK) is an occassional publication on
British-Armenian affairs.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Armenian defence minister to set up party in bid for presidency – paper
Iravunk, Yerevan
17 Jun 05
Text of unattributed report by Armenian newspaper Iravunk on 17 June
headlined “New support for Serzh Sarkisyan”
According to a source close to Armenian Defence Minister Serzh
Sarkisyan, he is going to form a new party on the basis of the People’s
Deputy parliamentary faction with the aim of using the party as a
means of political support.
The source said that in doing so, Sarkisyan intends to secure massive
representation in the parliament during the parliamentary elections
of 2007. He hopes that the party will win a great number of seats
in first-past-the-post constituencies and become the biggest faction
in the National Assembly. In turn, the faction will back Sarkisyan’s
candidacy in the presidential elections of 2008.
From: Baghdasarian

TURKISH AUTHORITIES SELECTIVE AMNESIA PREVENT ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA
Pan Armenian News
18.06.2005 04:19
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ This year Armenia marked the 90th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide. British political circles did not allow marking the
anniversary in UK, however this conference reminds that commemoration
and censuring are not merely limited to the anniversary. As reported
by the Press Service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Armenian FM
Vartan Oskanian stated it when addressing an international conference
on genocide in UK. He appreciated the commemoration event being held
in the fatherland of Arnold Toynbee and James Brice, a historian and
a diplomat, who researched documents on the treatment of Armenians
in Ottoman Turkey. “Today’s Turkish authorities wish to review
their works. Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote about it in a
letter to the British Parliament at the beginning of this year,”
Oskanian said. “Moreover, they lived most part of the past century
having reshaped their history, and now they want to remake yours,” the
Minister emphasized. It is disappointing that the contemporary Turkish
Government, held up as an example of democracy, can cynically deny its
own and the Armenian history, V. Oskanian said. “We wish to normalize
relations of our countries. However we consider Turkey’s attitude to
the matter is diametrically opposite,” Oskanian noted. “There is no
normal atmosphere in Turkey for discussing these issues. Turkey has
passed a Criminal Code, which considers any mentioning of the word
genocide as a penal act.” He also reminded that under the pressure
of Turkish authorities a scientific conference on the Armenian
Genocide was canceled. “One cannot knock at Europe’s door, closing
at that the eyes of historians and writers. Under the conditions of
absence of relations and in a situation of vacuum the commissioning
of solving complex problems to a few historians and experts is an
insincere attempt to start a dialogue. The involvement of the Turkish
State is necessary to start a dialogue,” the Armenian FM said. In his
words, Armenia and Turkey are not the only neighbors, whose relations
were undermined. This was the response of Armenian President Robert
Kocharian to the Turkish Premier. In the FM’s words, R. Kocharian
also remarked Armenia is ready to political dialogue, which may
include issues of today’s borders and the past history. “Contemporary
Turks are not guilty of the crimes of the past, of course if they do
not want to defend these,” the Minister emphasized. In his words,
Armenians and Turks, along with the rest of the world, can censure
these actions and denounce the Ottoman Empire crime. Each country
edits its past just in the way it does its expectations of the
future. “The selective amnesia of the Turkish authorities hampers
our efforts aimed at overcoming the common past,” he underscored.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Karabakh leader calls for meeting European standards in elections
Interfax
June 18 2005
STEPANAKERT. June 18 (Interfax) – President Arkady Gukasian of
the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh has called on
its residents to observe European democratic standards during the
elections to the local parliament on June 19, which, he said, could
promote international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The upcoming elections are of great international importance for
Nagorno-Karabakh,” Gukasian said in an address circulated on Saturday.
The people should demonstrate to the world that democratic reforms
in Nagorno-Karabakh are irreversible, Gukasian said.
“If the upcoming parliamentary elections fail to meet European
standards, the image of our state and its authority on the
international arena will be seriously damaged, which could negatively
influence the process of settlement of our conflict with Azerbaijan,”
he said.
The Nagorno-Karabakh leader regretted that certain actions taken during
the election campaign could split society and deal an irreparable
blow to Nagorno-Karabakh’s security.
“I am calling on all political forces and candidates to respect the
people’s choice and work together to build the state and seek its
international recognition,” Gukasian said.
From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN DEMONSTRATORS BURNT TURKISH FLAG IN BEIRUT
Pan Armenian News
16.06.2005 08:34
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Protesting against the arrival of Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Lebanon on an official call over 1500
Armenian demonstrators burned the Turkish flag, reported the Yerkir
newspaper. Shops closed for an hour Burch Hamut Armenian residential
area as a sign of protest.
From: Baghdasarian

HOOVER STILL IMPRESSING
By Hamlet Nalbandyan, Glendale News-Press and Leader
June 15, 2005
NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Yes, it’s only the summer, and Vigen Jilizian
is fully aware of that.
Still, even he admits his Hoover High boys’ basketball team is
capable of doing some special things next winter.
“Nobody’s going to give us a CIF ring for this,” said Jilizian after
his Tornadoes defeated archrival Glendale, 44-30, in Tuesday’s Hoover
High Summer League contest at the Tornado gym, which improved Hoover
to 3-1 in the summer.
“But our kids are working hard. I just want them to keep improving,
and we’ll see what happens.”
What’s happened so far should bring smiles to the faces of Tornado
fans. The Tornadoes competed over the weekend in the Southern
California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Assn. Summer Classic at
Glendale Community College.
There, they defeated Pasadena Marshall handily, 59-37, in the opener
before pulling off an upset victory against powerhouse
Harvard-Westlake, 46-37.
The Wolverines won the CIF Southern Section Division IIIA title last
season and return 10 of their 14 players from that group. Jilizian
said Harvard-Westlake had a vast majority of its roster at Saturday’s
game.
After beating Harvard-Westlake, the Tornadoes then faced small-school
power Campbell Hall later that day and just lost, 50-46. Campbell
Hall went 32-0 last season and won the Division IV state title.
“I think Hoover’s going to be outstanding next year,” Nitro Coach
Steve Snodgress said. “They’ve got a lot of pieces. They have a very
strong big guy and a really good young guard.”
Indeed, the Tornadoes have talent.
The big guy Snodgress was talking about is junior-to-be Zare
Zargaryan, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds Tuesday.
Zargaryan looked stronger and faster than last season, as did
sophomore-to-be point guard Shara Babakhanians, who finished with
nine points.
The Tornadoes also added 6-foot-4 power forward Ray Beginyan, who
finished with seven points and six rebounds, and they’ve got good
role players in Razmik Hossepians (six points) and Artash Davtyan
(five points). And best of all, all of the aforementioned key players
are all underclassmen.
“We’re only going to have three seniors next year, so eight of these
guys have at least one more year after next year,” Jilizian said.
While the Tornadoes — who finished last in the Pacific League but
still won 11 games a season ago — have the pieces to their puzzle
pretty much set, the Nitros (0-1) are still in the searching stages.
Glendale graduated its top two scorers from last season in Raymond
Dagher (14.2 points per game) and Leonard Khechumyan (12.0), which
means Snodgress is looking for a go-to player.
“We return a lot of our support group, but someone from that group
has to emerge and lead us,” Snodgress said. “We’re going to rely on
guys like David [Lee], Hamlet [Hovhanesian] and Theo [Minassian], and
two of those three have to step up in every game.”
In Tuesday’s game, there were stretches where that trio played well.
Glendale grabbed an 8-6 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half,
but then got outscored 12-0 in the next 10 minutes.
The Nitros pulled head, 24-23, three minutes into the second half,
then got outscored, 21-2, during the next 15 minutes Lee led Glendale
with 10 points and Hovhanesian added nine, all on three-pointers.
Minassian finished with five off the bench and junior-to-be center
Haig Darakjian added four.
* HAMLET NALBANDYAN covers sports. He can be reached at (818)
637-3226 or by e-mail at [email protected].
From: Baghdasarian

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Cannata
June 14, 2006
Andrew Souvall (202) 225-4671
PALLONE EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT WITH DECISION TO WITHDRAWAL AWARD
FOR AMBASSADOR EVANS
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), co-chairman
of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, gave the following
speech on the House floor last night expressing his disappointment
with the American Foreign Service Association’s (AFSA) decision to
withdraw awarding a “Constructive Dissent” award to U.S. Armenian
Ambassador John Evans.
AFSA, a professional association made up of 13,000 members of the
U.S. Foreign Service, initially announced the award to recognize
Ambassador Evans’ use of the word “genocide” in describing the
atrocities committed against the Armenian people, but the award was
later withdrawn. Pallone believes the association had second thoughts
after receiving pressure from the Bush Administration.
“Ambassador Evans was due to receive the Christian A. Heter Award for
intellectual courage, initiative, and integrity later this week. The
award was a result of courageous statements he made regarding the
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
“In a series of public statements, Ambassador Evans, who has
studied Russian history at Yale and Columbia and Ottoman history
at the Kennan Institute, stated, ‘I will today call it the Armenian
Genocide.’ Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Evans has studied the history of
Armenia, and based on his substantial studies of the issue, he was
willing to go on the record and define the actions taken against
Armenians as genocide.
“The Armenian Genocide was the systematic extermination— the
murder— of one-and-one-half million Armenian men, women and children.
“To this day, the Republic of Turkey refuses to acknowledge the fact
that this massive crime against humanity took place on soil under
its control, and in the name of Turkish nationalism.
“Unfortunately, some 90 years later, the U.S. State Department
continues to support Turkey’s denials despite all evidence to the
contrary. It’s not likely that the State Department was happy their
Ambassador to Armenia acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.
Therefore, Evans retracted his remarks after receiving substantial
pressure from the State Department.
“Well, now the selection committee at the American Foreign Service
Association has decided to withdraw the award with no reason
for its actions. I find the timing of the decision peculiar. The
sharp turnaround came right before Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Washington for a meeting with President
Bush. Based on past history, it’s clear that the State Department,
the Bush Administration, and the powerful pro-Turkish lobby pressured
A-F-S-A to withdraw Ambassador Evans Award.
“It is simply unacceptable for this administration to continue to
penalize the ambassador for his comments. Ambassador Evans did a
courageous thing; his statements did not contradict U.S. policy,
but rather articulated the same message that this Administration
has sent to the public. The only difference in this case is that
Ambassador Evans assigned a word to define the actions taken against
the Armenians.
“This was a refreshing break from a pattern on the part of the State
Department of using evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the
full reality of the Armenian Genocide, Ambassador Evans pointed out
that, “No American official has ever denied it,” and went on to say
that, “I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens
a more frank and honest way of discussing this problem.”
“Ambassador Evans was merely recounting the historical record, which
has been attested to by over 120 Holocaust and genocide scholars from
around the world. By doing this, he earned a prestigious award that
was taken from him because of politics and denial.
“I want to add my voice to all those who, in Ambassador Evans’ own
words, ‘think it is unbecoming of us as Americans to play word games
here. I believe in calling things by their name.’ Evans was right,
and the American Foreign Services Association was correct in awarding
him the Christian A. Heter Award. We should encourage our Ambassadors
to speak the truth, and, more broadly, end, once and for all, our
complicity in Turkey’s campaign of genocide denial.
“Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Evans has been penalized for telling the
truth. The American Foreign Service Association has set a terrible
example by retracted Ambassador Evans’ award. I guess even in America
the Turkish Government is able to stifle debate.”
-30-
Jennifer Karch Cannata
Press Secretary
Office of U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr.
420 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-4671 office
(202) 225-9665 fax
From: Baghdasarian

ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 10 2005
Armenian pilots released after 15 months in irons in Equatorial Guinea

MOSCOW, June 10 (Itar-Tass) — The Armenian pilots, who were
released from prison in Equatorial Guinea two days ago, had spent 15
months in irons, An-12 crew commander Ashot Karapetyan told a Friday
conference at the Itar-Tass main office.
He said each crewmember had had several bouts of malaria. `We did not
receive good therapy, so the disease was recurrent,’ Karapetyan said.
The pilots think that malaria might have a severe effect on their
health. They asked President of the Russian Armenian Union Ara
Abramyan for organizing their medical treatment.
The pilots admitted though that they were treated better than local
inmates.
Six Armenian pilots were charged with a coup attempt last November
and sentenced to 14-24 years in prison. They pleaded not guilty. The
president of Equatorial Guinea pardoned the pilots on June 6.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

RA PRESIDENT VISITS RF EMBASSY IN ARMENIA ON OCCASION OF NATIONAL
HOLIDAY OF RUSSIA
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, NOYAN TAPAN. On the occasion of the national holiday
of Russia, the day of the State Sovereignty Declaration’s adoption, RA
Robert Kocharian visited the RF Embassy in Armenia on June 9. As Noyan
Tapan was informed from the RA President’s Press Office, in his
congratulating address, Robert Kocharian expressed a confidence that
the strong ties having been formed between the two countries and the
two peoples for centuries will more strenghten.
From: Baghdasarian